Flush Mount Toilet to Floor Bolts

ABSTRACT

A hardware set for mounting a plumbing fixture to a surface includes male and female threaded components. The male and female components engage within an opening of the plumbing fixture and have respective lengths selected to allow the components to overlap and tighten in an area hidden from view. The visible portions of the hardware are close to the plumbing fixture and present a substantially finished appearance, in contrast to standard hardware.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to flush toilet plumbing fixtures and, morespecifically, to hardware used for securing flush toilet plumbingfixtures to the floor.

BACKGROUND

Toilets are conventionally secured to the floor using a bolt whichextends upwardly from the floor through openings in a flange at the baseof the toilet. Conventionally, there are at least two openings in theflange at the base of the toilet, one on either side. The conventionalhardware includes a washer configured to span the opening in the flangeof the toilet and a nut arranged to compress the washer against theflange and draw the toilet downward against the floor. Toilet fixturesare typically cast from ceramic or porcelain material and the flangethrough which the attachment bolts must extend can vary in thickness.Therefore, conventional bolts are provided with excess length toaccommodate variations in the thickness of the flange and/or flooringthrough which they must extend. It is conventional to cut off the excesslength of the attachment bolt once the toilet has been secured to thefloor. It is also conventional to provide a trim cap which covers thenut and washer as well as the end of the bolt and flange opening toprovide a more finished appearance to the mounted toilet fixture. FIGS.1-4 illustrate the appearance of a toilet base with conventionalmounting hardware and trim cap.

While a conventional hardware has served its purpose, there is clearlyroom for improvement in terms of the appearance and effectiveness ofhardware used to secure toilets to the floor. A common complaint is thatthe trim caps do not stay attached and are lost, exposing the unsightlyhardware to view as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Further, the trim caps mustbe provided with a vertical height sufficient to cover the end of thebolt, nut and washer as shown in FIG. 3. The height of the conventionaltrim cap creates a space between a trim cap and a toilet base whichtypically collects dirt, contributing to an unsightly and unsanitarycondition as shown in FIG. 4.

There is a need for improved toilet mounting hardware, which addressesthe above complaints.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a conventional toilet fixture secured to the floorusing conventional prior art hardware;

FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of flush mount toilet to floor hardwareaccording to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of flush mount toilet to floorhardware installed to secure a toilet to the floor; and

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of flush mount toiled to floor hardwareaccording to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a first embodiment of improved toilet mountinghardware 10. The disclosed flush mount toilet-to-floor bolts include abolt 20 and threaded sleeve 30. The bolt 20 has an externally threadedshank 26 and a head 24 configured to resist rotation and/or be grippedby a tool during tightening. The disclosed bolt 20 has a length selectedso that the free end of the threaded shank 26 does not extend above theheight of the flange of the toilet as shown in FIG. 6. A hardware kitmay include bolts of different lengths to accommodate different floorand toilet configurations. The threaded sleeve 30 includes a largediameter flanged head 32 and an internally threaded shank 34. The lengthof the bore in the internally threaded shank 34 accommodates variationin the height of the toilet flange and/or thickness of the flooring. Itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the positions ofthe externally threaded bolt 20 and the internally threaded sleeve 30may be reversed, with the sleeve 30 embedded in the floor and the boltextending downward into the sleeve 30. In such an arrangement, the headand washer used on the toilet flange need to be sized and shaped tosecure the toilet to the floor. This will typically require an enlargedflanged head and a washer having a diameter large enough to cover theopening in the toilet flange. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, theflanged head 32 is provided with a plastic washer 36 to permit relativemovement between the flanged head 32 and the toilet flange duringtightening. Once tightened over the flange of a toilet, the improvedhardware 10 sits quite low and flat to the toilet flange (see FIG. 6)when compared with the prior art hardware (see FIG. 2). The improvedhardware 10 provides a substantially improved finished appearance, evenin the absence of a trim cap.

The flanged head 32 of the threaded sleeve 30 may be provided with anyconventional tool fixture or drive socket, including a polygonalperipheral surface, a hex socket and any relevant socket for driving thethreaded sleeve 30 to tighten the hardware. The head 24 of the bolt 20may be similarly configured if the sleeve 30 is in the floor and thebolt is installed from above. A trim cap may be configured to securelygrasp the flanged head 32 and completely cover the opening in the toiletflange. The trim cap 50, 52 may be provided with peripheral edges thatare bevelled or otherwise configured to blend with the appearance of thetoilet flange. See FIG. 6, trim cap 50 and trim cap 52. The low heightof the disclosed mounting hardware and trim cap substantially reduceissues with prior art hardware and trim caps regarding accumulation ofdirt on the flange at the base of the toilet.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the disclosed hardwarethat includes a bolt 20 and sleeve 40. The exterior of the flanged head42 and shank 44 of the sleeve 40 are powder coated to conform theappearance of the flanged head 42 with the color of the toilet beinginstalled. A washer 46 of the correct size and color is also included.This arrangement allows the disclosed hardware to be used without acover or trim cap as discussed above. The low profile flanged head 42and washer 46 cover the opening in the toilet flange and match thetoilet color, presenting a finished appearance.

1. A hardware assembly for securing a plumbing fixture to a supportstructure, said hardware assembly comprising a male component includinga first flanged head and a threaded shank extending therefrom; and afemale component comprising a second flanged head and a threaded sleeveextending therefrom, said threaded sleeve having an axial length atleast ⅓ of an axial length of said threaded shank.
 2. The hardwareassembly of claim 1, wherein said threaded sleeve comprises anon-metallic washer surrounding the sleeve and adjacent a bottom surfaceof the second flanged head.
 3. The hardware assembly of claim 1, whereinone of said first or second flanged heads has a colored coating.
 4. Thehardware assembly of claim 3, wherein said washer is of the same coloras the coated flanged head.